Townsquare Capital LLC Acquires 5,326 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 18.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 33,907 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,326 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $3,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,142,000 after acquiring an additional 84,923 shares during the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 115,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,123,000 after purchasing an additional 92,000 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $56,921,000 after purchasing an additional 265,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMI Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 33,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 7,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

MMSI opened at $93.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.60 and a 200-day moving average of $100.85. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.70 and a 12-month high of $111.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.71, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MMSI. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $116.00 price objective (up previously from $114.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 12,451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.81, for a total transaction of $1,230,283.31. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,391,300.81. This trade represents a 33.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total value of $2,487,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,803.50. This represents a 39.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Profile

Merit Medical Systems, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy. The company provides micropuncture kits, angiographic needles, sheaths, guide wires, and safety products; peripheral intervention, including angiography, drainage, delivery systems, and embolotherapy products; spine products, such as vertebral augmentation, radiofrequency ablation, and bone biopsy systems; oncology products; and cardiac intervention products, such as access, angiography, electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management, fluid management, hemodynamic monitoring, hemostasis, and intervention to treat various heart conditions.